What can an office cleaner help with?
Commercial and corporate offices are busy professional areas in which business is conducted at all times of the day. This often includes working with clients who call into the offices and need to be assured of a clean and hygienic environment in which to hold meetings. It is obvious that office staff cannot be expected to keep the offices clean as they have their own work to do, so it falls to another group of people to perform this function.
What types of office cleaning is available?
Office housekeeping
Office cleaning incorporates many areas. It includes the cleaning and polishing of desks and work surfaces, vacuuming of carpets, sweeping and wet cleaning (mopping) of uncarpeted floors, wiping down walls and other non-porous surfaces, cleaning cobwebs from ceilings and ceiling fixtures, cleaning of kitchen and bathroom areas, and could extend to the inside cleaning of windows. Some cleaning companies will attend to the refilling of liquid soap dispensers and restocking of toilet rolls and other general items, although this is not always included in the service. This is an additional “housekeeping” responsibility over and above normal cleaning duties.
Schedule the right office cleaning time
It is up to the business owner to decide how often the offices need to be cleaned. Cleaning companies will fit into the schedules and requirements of their clients, which could mean cleaning on a daily, bi-weekly or weekly basis. Since offices are necessarily busy places, cleaning services often operate outside of normal office hours, thus avoiding disruption of the normal office routine. This could mean coming in to clean before the office opens for the day, or after the office has closed. Large office cleaning companies may have the responsibility of nightly cleaning of entire office blocks, and one often sees lights on in such blocks during the night as the cleaning services carry out their duties, leaving the offices clean and ready for the new workday.
Office cleaners get the job done quickly
A cleaning service will accomplish far more productive cleaning in a short period of time as these companies employ the services of small teams of cleaners who are fully experienced and knowledgeable in their jobs. A skilled cleaning team will be able to clean more in an hour than one person could accomplish in a full day. Professional offices are places of business, and it would be unseemly and extremely disruptive to have a cleaner sweeping the floor or cleaning windows and vacuuming the carpets during the working day. Private office and general building bathrooms, in particular, have to be maintained to good hygienic standards of cleanliness, and this is often a task which is carried out continuously during the day by a rota of dedicated cleaners employed for this purpose only.
Security is key
An office cleaning company is necessarily bound by confidentiality and security protocols. If they are to work outside of normal office hours, they need to have access to the offices and if keys are provided to them, the client must be assured that the premises is securely locked once the cleaners have finished their work. Office cleaning teams are usually accompanied by a supervisor who will ensure that all cleaning duties are carried out as required and be responsible for the safety of all valuables and the secure locking of the office when the team is finished.
Once-off or ongoing office cleaning
Office cleaning companies are extremely flexible and will undertake the cleaning of offices on once-off projects, such as when moving into or out of a new office premises. When relocating office premises, the business needs to be up and running as quickly as possible, and the services of a professional company which will prepare and clean the new premises prior to the move is an extremely valuable investment into continuing productivity.
How do I find the right office cleaning company?
Check their ratings and online customer reviews
Office cleaning services are widely available, ranging from small concerns to large organisations which employ a number of cleaning teams. If you do not have access to word of mouth referrals from business colleagues, there are many other methods of finding the right company for your needs. Office cleaning companies are easily found by looking for their advertisements in newspapers, magazines, home catalogues, the Yellow Pages and online. More and more companies are advertising online, and Uptasker is a fantastic resource when looking for the right cleaning services for your needs, together with their online reviews.
Office cleaning testimonials
Always check company testimonials and online reviews for client satisfaction ratings. Check for aspects such as reliability, level of cleaning performed, number of staff available and if the teams have supervision during the cleaning process to ensure satisfactory results. You need to be able to hand over this aspect of your business to a professional company which delivers consistent high standards without reminders and any need for complaint. Be sure to discuss your requirements and expectations upfront with the office cleaning company beforehand to make sure that you are both fully aware of the services to be provided and the costs involved. In this way, you can be sure that your cleaning company will play an important part in maintaining your professional image and contributing to overall employee productivity.
